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The Transatlantic Slave Trade
From the mid 1400s to the early 1800s, over 20 million people from Africa were taken by European slave traders and exploited in brutal ways. Along with being traded then enslaved, they were treated like objects, beaten, killed, raped, and stripped of all of their rights. -
White Slave Trafficking
Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States and Europe were facing a crisis of white slave trafficking. Many white women and girls were being sexualized, traded, and forced into prostitution. -
"White Slave Traffic" Treaty Signed
On May 18, 1904, the "White Slave Traffic" treaty was signed by 26 countries in attempt to criminalize trafficking and protect the women who were affected by it. -
Japanese Army Forces Girls into Prostitution
In 1948 after World War 2, over 200,000 girls were taken from neighboring East Asian countries and forced into prostitution for the Japanese Imperial Army. They were called "Comfort Women". -
Human Trafficking Convention was held by the UN
In 1949, the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others Convention was held by the UN. The countries that agreed were expected to put policies and laws into place to protect victims of trafficking. -
Trafficking Victims Protection Act Signed
The U.S. created and signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act which was meant to prevent, protect, and prosecute. It was renewed 4 times. -
Child Slaves in Africa
In 2002, there was a large controversy surrounding the cocoa bean farms in Africa when it was found that about half of the United States' chocolate came from child laborers who had been taken from all over Africa and forced to work. -
Trafficking in Latin America
A 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report found that over 1.8 million people in Latin America were victims of sex and labor trafficking. -
Human Trafficking in the Middle East
The International Labor Organization found that around 600,000 people in the Middle East were deceived, lured in, and kidnapped and forced into labor, prostitution, and confinement. -
Worldwide Human Trafficking Today
The 2017 Persons in Trafficking Report found that 24.9 million people worldwide each year are estimated to be victims of the multi-billion dollar industry.
